Library volunteer dedicated to free access for all

Sherry Johnson has been a volunteer with the Friends of the Rancho San Diego Library for 12 years and was the founding president of the group.

“I used to work in libraries and books are my life,” said Johnson, 66, a retired library technician with the San Diego County Library system who lives in Rancho San Diego.

When forming the nonprofit group in 1999, Johnson helped recruit people from the community to serve as treasurer, secretary and vice president. They raised money through various fundraisers and collected donations of books for the bookstore before the library opened in 2002. Next April, the library celebrate its 10th anniversary.

“So, we’re trying to raise $5,000 to recarpet the community room and repaint it,” she said.

Currently, Johnson serves as manager of the bookstore and oversees 27 volunteers, recruiting and training them, screening donations and supervising the bookstore staff. She spends about 15 to 20 hours each week, putting in more time if there’s an event coming up. There are more than 150 people who assist with donations, fundraising to provide music programs each month, the summer reading program for children, supporting the craft programs and the mobile library at the branch.

Her love of books likely comes from her mother teaching her to read before she started school, and the fact that books were scarce where she grew up in New Jersey, she said. So, they were treated with reverence, causing her love of books to grow.

As much as she enjoys books and the volunteer work, there are challenges.

“Dealing with people, that’s always challenging. And dealing with the volume, although I don’t want to put a negative spin on it. The volume of books that we get in is wonderful,” she said. “Our community is very literate and also very generous.”

She loves the atmosphere and the people that she meets, and believes in the need for libraries because they provide access.

“I truly believe that our democracy depends on free access to information for everybody, so I’ve dedicated myself to make sure that that free access stays free,” she said.

Do you know of a volunteer who should be in the spotlight? Contact Lisa Deaderick at (619) 293-2503, or lisa.deaderick@uniontrib.com.